This week, Dark Horse announced two new miniseries that will spin out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Nine.First up is a Spike series, written by Victor Gischler (X-Men, Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth) and drawn by Paul Lee (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Devil’s Footprints), The premise of the series is that Spike ventures off world in his bug ship in order to get away from some personal frustration on terra firma, and winds up sucked into a demonic plot to take advantage of the absence of magic on earth."What I love about working with Dark Horse on Buffy-related material is that they take great care to capture the feel of the characters and stories from the television show, of which I was a huge fan. Getting my hands on the characters I’ve loved so much over the years is a dream come true," said Gischler.

November 2012 will see the release of a new Willow miniseries, written by Jeff Parker (Thunderbolts, Agents of Atlas) and drawn by Brian Ching (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Witchblade). This series will delve into the witch’s obsessive journey to recover her magic. Willow is on a quest to bring magic back to the world, and she’ll do anything to make it happen, including forming some unhealthy alliances after cracking the code to travel to other dimensions—something thought impossible since the destruction of the Seed.

Spike #1 will be on sale August 22, 2012, and Willow #1 will be arriving on November 21, 2012. For more updates, stay tuned to www.darkhorse.com.

The last time I was grinning from ear to ear walking out of a horror movie was when I saw Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell back in 2009. It's pretty rare these days to find a horror movie that manages to be smart, fun and original at the same time. I am very happy to say that The Cabin in the Woods is all three of those things, and is easily the best horror movie I've seen in a long time.

It's hard to talk about this movie without spoiling it, and you should go see it knowing as little as possible. What I will say is that Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard have drawn on their storytelling experience, as well as their knowledge and love of the genre to give us something that every horror fan can appreciate. In many ways, much of the movie feels like an episode of Buffy or Supernatural. The character interaction we've come to love from those shows is present throughout the movie. Every cliche we see in almost every modern horror movie is here--some are played straight up, and some with a twist. Moments of tension are well balanced with moments of humor. And while the movie is not blood soaked from start to finish, there are some very gory moments featuring a good mix of both digital and practical effects.

What I'm trying to say without actually revealing anything is that there's a little bit of everything in The Cabin in the Woods, and it all comes together to form a really fun horror movie. One of the things that a lot of modern horror movies seem to have forgotten is that they're supposed to be fun. It's a blast to go to the theater with a group of friends and be put through the ringer of emotions that a good horror movie can offer. Laugh one minute, jump out of your seat the next, cringe in disgust, and then cheer for the monster. The Cabin in the Woods lets you do all of these things, and for that I love it.

Press ReleaseRed 5 Comics is very proud to announce that Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X has been nominated for an Eisner Award! Volume 6 of Atomic Robo is up for Best Limited Series at the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. The winner will be announced at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International in July. This year’s nominees are:

Best Limited SeriesAtomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X, by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener (Red 5)Criminal: The Last of the Innocent, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel Icon)Flashpoint: Batman – Knight of Vengeance, by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso (Vertigo/DC)The New York Five, by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly (Vertigo/DC)Who Is Jake Ellis? by Nathan Edmondson & Tonci Zonjic (Image)

Atomic Robo and the Fightin’ Scientists of Tesladyne was previously nominated for two Eisner Awards back in 2008. Volume 1 got nods for Best Limited Series as well as Best Colorist for Ronda Pattison.

We’re super proud of Team Robo. The creative team on Volume 6 was Brian Clevinger (Writer, Co-Creator), Scott Wegener (Art, Co-Creator), Ronda Pattison (Colors), Jeff Powell (Letters), and Lee Black (Editor). We wish them the best of luck in July!

In case readers missed Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X (Volume 6), the trade paperback will be on store shelves in April. The series can also be purchased digitally from both Comixology and iVerse's Comics+.

Thanks for all of your on-going support... and thank you in advance for helping spread the word for Robo in what is sure to be an uphill battle for its first Eisner win.

As we fast approach Boston Comic Con, you may begin to look at the guest list including those in Artist Alley and get a little overwhelmed! One of those who will be there is artist Mark Dos Santos.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mark started drawing at an early age. Following a very non artistic stint in the US Army, Mark made his way to the Joe Kubert School and then moved to California where his career got rolling.

“I was looking a the Boston Comic Con artist alley list and just clicked on Mark’s name to see what came up,” Matman said of the scientific way he discovers new creators. “The first thing I saw is he’s a Whovian, so that moves him up a few notches. But then I looked at his prints and holy cow… this guy is amazing!”

Not only does Mark have some beautiful work including his ‘Gotham Evening Post’ stuff, Doictor Who and all the comic ladies we love.

To find out more go to his site at www.markdossantos.com and if you’re going to Boston this weekend, don’t forget to check him out.

Our good friend Jamie over at 80s Tees gave us a heads up this week that the Onion A.V. Club reviewed Secret Identity in their weekly podcast column.

The reviewer gave a nice overview of what we think makes Secret Identity stand out from the crowd, and also specifically talked about issue #417. Along with the positive feedback, the article also touched on what the reviewer didn’t think worked so well, particularly with the second shows of each week. Overall, I thought it was an insightful and very fair review--you should give it a read. You can read the full article here.

To say this film has been a long time in the making is a bit of an understatement! Since the 1930’s, the Three Stooges have been entertaining and stunting the maturity level of folks as they cemented their place in history.

Welcome back boys…

‘The Three Stooges’ is the latest film from the Farrelly Brothers and if you know anything about the brothers, this is the film they have always wanted to make. The movies plot is simple; the Stooges are trying to raise money to save the orphanage they grew up in. Not a spoiler if I tell you they do!

The movie is set up into three shorts that all tie together. Each one captured the feel, pacing and style of the originals, complete with hammers to the heads and plenty of eye gouges. The funniest moments in the film revolve around Moe joining the cast of ‘Jersey Shore’. That is the most ‘Jersey Shore’ I’ve ever watched.

Chris Diamantopoulos (Moe), Sean Hayes (Larry) and Will Sasso (Curley) are perfect in their rolls; and not just in the physical comedy but the way they deliver their lines. The supporting cast including Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara, Larry David, and Brian Doyle – Murray all do an amazing job.

I had hoped this movie would be the next ‘Dumb and Dummer’, but it wasn’t. It is a funny, fun and very entertaining movie that to me stood more as a tribute to the Stooges than anything else. It’s an all age’s movie that also includes an incredibly cool disclaimer at the end. This is a great way to introduce a young audience to the magic that has entertained us for at least three generations.

This weekend, comiXology — the world’s largest digital comics platform available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and the Web with over 60 million comic and graphic novel downloads to date — returns to McCormick Place, Chicago for the Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo 2012 (C2E2) giving away free digital comic codes for The Walking Dead Vol. 1 at their booth (#522) during this year's C2E2 taking place from April 13th - 15th.Following the wildly popular promotional giveaways at WonderCon ‘12 and Emerald City Comicon ‘12 last month, comiXology is teaming up once again with The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman’s Skybound, to make C2E2 ’12 unforgettable for comic fans by giving them a free “taste” of the first graphic novel — regularly $8.99 for 140 pages — that the hit The Walking Dead TV show is based on.

The first 2,500 C2E2 ‘12 attendees to come by comiXology’s booth (#522) will receive a limited edition promotional postcard imprinted with a unique download code redeemable for The Walking Dead Vol. 1 exclusively on comiXology.com in exchange for an email sign up.

In addition to the must-have The Walking Dead Vol. 1 giveaway, comiXology will be providing hands on demonstrations of the Comics by comiXology digital comics platform at their booth all weekend long. Comic fans should not miss their chance to get a look at the all new 3.1 iOS upgrade that includes the CMX-HD digital comics format for the new iPad.

All C2E2 ’12 attendees are invited to attend the special “ComiXology Open Discussion Panel” where comiXology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger will answer questions from the audience on “Everything Digital” with no topic off limits. The “ComiXology Open Discussion: Everything Digital Panel” will be on Friday, April 13th from 5:15pm- 6:15pm in Room N426b.

The Inkwell Awards wants to announce that the fifth season is in full swing this spring after a strong opening. "The Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge event went exceptionally well and the book collection of our first Challenge has sold more copies than I can keep up with, especially the Joe Sinnott signed and numbered editions!" says Inkwell Awards director Bob Almond. "Thanks to our loyal supporters, our ongoing fundraising auctions on eBay enabled us to fully fund our annual Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning & Design.”

The only noticeable difference between 2012 and 2011 will be the number of convention stops on our Inkwell tour. “Last year consisted of a heavy show schedule,” continues Bob, “but this year my dad was sick for several months and passed away in February with my mom moving in with me, leaving me barely able to keep up with operations and assignments let alone convention hopping. But thankfully my team has been all I could hope for in their dedication and execution of duties in a timely fashion. They inspired me when things were really rough."

The non-profit organization have made two stops familiar in their annual travels and this year is no exception. Bob continues, "Next week we will be revisiting our 'family' and attending Pittsburgh Comicon on April 20-22. We have a new Ms. Inkwell model to portray our popular spokesmodel, Melissa Dloughy Bender, a local resident who's been a cosplay staple at this show for some time now. We'll also have Creator Editions of our Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge book, signed & numbered to only five with autographs from Joe himself, intro writer and Hall of Fame award-winning inker Terry Austin, and book producers Daniel Best, Jim Tournas, and myself." The other stop will be at the Inkwell Awards 'homebase' of Charlotte , NC for Heroes Con on June 22-24 where they present their annual live ceremony. "Most of our organization, past and present, will be attending the event and our new down south Ms. Inkwell model will be played by Ciara Michelle, a longtime convention assistant of our model liaison contributor (and exceptional artist) Louis Small, Jr." says Bob. "She's also a local resident and we had that development in the works for some time but we simply had to wait until the time was right for her to step up. We will also debut the annual Inkwell Awards Donation Drive book that weekend with an awesome cover by superstar artist Mike McKone, one of our ambassadors."

Now that the Nomination Committee ballots have been tallied, voting this year will take place May 1- May 15 when the official public ballot will be accessible traditionally on the Inkwell Awards website homepage. The voting is open to all public participants, whether they be fans or fellow creators and peers. The award winners will be brought to the Heroes Con and announced at the Inkwell Awards ceremony. Bob closes with "We'll have more Heroes/ceremony details as we get closer to June but we're already so excited for this event where everyone's hard work will pay off and the best of the best ink artists and their work will be recognized".

As we talked about on the last podcast, a couple weeks ago was the last Mike Carbo-produced New York comic show. Formerly known as the Big Apple Con, Mike renamed his shows the New York Comic Book Marketplace aftre Wizard bought the Big Apple name a few years back. Mike has been a staple of New York shows for years, and we were sad we didn't get to make it to the show. Our good friend Mitch Hallock (ComicCONN, The IndyCast) did make it there however, and he sent along this recap:Mike Carbo, the man behind the legendary Big Apple Comic Cons, NY Comic Book Marketplace shows and National Comic events held his FINAL show on March 31, 2012 after decades of comic con fun ! Through the years I have met legends from comics, music, TV, media and spent more money on collectibles, comics and art than I want to remember!

Like you guys, I first attended as a fan then as a member of the fan press with my podcasts TheIndyCast.com and website theRaider.net - seeing legends like Stan Lee, Julie Schwartz, John Romita, and actors like David Carradine wearing an American flag bandana and throwing kicks out front while smoking a cigarette, have Kristen Bell call Hayden Paniteirre over to look at my blue eyes and say they were the best she'd ever seen! That was a Mike Carbo show - a mix bag of celebs, dealers and craziness -- where it was small and intimate so that you could walk up chat with your favorites, find great deals and watch Mike Carbo bounce around the room like the Flash!

I went to NYC on the Friday night before the last show for a cocktail party - where I met the Fonz - Henry Winkler, Stan Lee, got a bear hug from George Perez and chatted with ComiCONN exhibitor - Anthony Snyder (and son of the late great Jimmy "the Greek") from Anthony's original comic art. The highlights were having an hour long debate on the greatest rock guitarists with Indy pre-production creator and art legend - Jim Steranko - who I interviewed on the IndyCast years ago and remembered me by name! I had an hour long discussion with Steranko on who were the seminal rock guitarist of the 1950s & 60s and he challenged me to go make a list and tell him on Saturday! Always the showman - Mike Carbo - who looks like a mix of Mick Jager, the William Hartnell version of Dr. Who and a Dr. Suess character all rolled into one - didn't disappoint and went out with a bang - as he ran around the ballroom! Hanging with Fonz - Henry Winkler chatting about Yale and the best pizza in New Haven, CT (Pepe's BTW) and what about Shia acting like Fonzie in "Crystal Skull" - a surreal moment come to life if there ever was one! Talking comics with Ming Chen and Mike Zapzic from AMC TV's "Comicbook Men" which I auditioned for and was their "Indy expert" . Ming asked a question I never thought of - "Why does Willie get on the plane and go with Indy in TOD"?

It was a night that brought in big names and crazed fans to say farewell - there was something for everyone at that cocktail party on Friday night and it would be going to Saturday's show -- where I dug up some Indiana Jones "ART"-tifacts and cool comics! On Saturday, Sketch Getter B was chasing down some original art from Rich Buckler, found a nifty old time Batman comic art page, Erik was getting a Starfire sketch from George Perez - all the time chatting with fans and dealers. Thanks to Anthony Snyder's Original Art. I landed some pages from Marvel's Indy comic issue #33, Dark Horse's Indy and the Sargasso Sea Pirates #1, and original Indy sketch from artist Ron Frenz all a great prices.

The highlight was chatting with the Marvel legend - Stan Lee - who at 89, has so much energy. Best of all he signed the flyer that had the Avengers art from Chris Giarrusso (he loved it, by the way) for my 3rd Annual ComiCONN happening in Trumbull, CT on 8/18 and wished me luck! EXCELSIOR! 'nuff said!On the way out I bumped into the living legend - Mike Carbo who was getting his photo with comic royalty - Lee, Steranko and Carmine Infantino - and then Mike broke into singing the theme song to the "Merry Marvel Marching Society"! The whole time a camera crew was filming him for a documentary. A movie I can only hope that will be in 3-D, as a 2-D film cannot capture the marvelous madness of Mike Carbo!